AFI Dallas Bestows Tex Avery Award on Selick

The award, named for the famed director of Warner Bros. shorts starring Daffy Duck, Bugs Bunny and friends, was presented to Selick at the Nasher Sculpture Center on Tuesday night.

Speaking at the event, Selick says the 3-D process used on Coraline could help the technique of stop-motion animation stand out from more popular CGI efforts, according to the Dallas Observer‘s Unfair Park blog.”Really, what does stop-motion have going for it?” he asked. “It can’t do smooth, it can’t do these huge vistas. It’s very imperfect, but it’s real. Shooting in 3-D sort of underlines that.”

The festival, affiliated with the American Film Institute in Los Angeles, has previously given the award to The Incredibles director Brad Bird and Ice Age helmer Chris Wedge.